They not only show Crazy Man's Handcuffs in slow motion and close up (beside other tricks and sleights), they even name it correctly.
The London-based "magician" who was willing to be filmed calls himself The Chelsea Joker.

That's a shame. Another Masked Magician who can't make it legitimately and selling out.

Who knows how many folks will see the commercial and the sponge ball and card moves are just moves, so easy enough to avoid by workers until the dust settles. But Crazy Man's Handcuffs? That is a staple in so many workers' repertoires. And has always been pretty secret since it can't easily be put into a magic set. What a shame. Hopefully this just blows over.

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Tim SnyderNew user
Chicago, IL
66 Posts

Posted: Aug 28, 2017 08:48 pm

0

I hate exposure of any kind, but how many people watch commercials anymore? If I watch a TV show live, I start it 20 minutes late so that I can fast forward through the commercials. I don't text a lot, but I imagine a lot of people use commercials as a good time to check their other devices. This doesn't seem like a "stop everything and watch this" type of production. Hopefully it will have a limited viewership.

tommeepicklesRegular user
New Orleans
151 Posts

Posted: Aug 29, 2017 07:51 am

0

I haven't seen it on TV yet but I opened it up in Youtube just to give it a thumbs down.

I don't like the exposure and haven't seen the commercial either but unless this is several different commercials, it seems awfully long.

Where the magic begins

NashInner circle
Hong Kong ~ Seattle
1033 Posts

Posted: Sep 3, 2017 01:32 pm

1

To be honest, even in slow motion, I don't think lay people can really pinpoint how Crazy Man's Handcuff works, let alone remembers it enough that when they see a magician does it live that they'll know the secret. From a marketing perspective, that's actually pretty ingenious of Sony to promote their slow-motion capability.

On Sep 3, 2017, Nash wrote:
To be honest, even in slow motion, I don't think lay people can really pinpoint how

Yeah, I'd have to agree with Nash. Unless your goal is to make people think that what they think they see is the reality, something like this may even lead to a greater appreciation of the skill involved. You can see something happen in the slo-mo shot of C.M. Handcuffs, but what you see isn't explained. We know what we're seeing because we know what we're looking for, but the vast population has no idea. The other effects shown add credence to the "hand is quicker than the eye" theory, which is actually true once in a while. I see nothing horribly sinister in this ad. I see a smart marketing idea and possibly even a good talking point for talented closeup entertainers.

I hope the "exposure" is worth it. That's the joke and funnily enough he's calling himself a joker.

61magicSpecial user
Seaside, CA
711 Posts

Posted: Sep 15, 2017 09:33 am

0

I too dislike exposure when done for no other reason to make a quick buck. Think about it this really isn't any different than all the exposure on youtube... Ultimately magic will suffer when the mystery is gone.